Enhancing wide-band trajectory tracking and finite-time control of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators using Nonsingular terminal sliding mode control scheme

The utilization of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs) in soft robotics is becoming increasingly popular due to their distinctive properties. However, controlling these actuators is challenging due to their nonlinear nature. This study addresses precise control of DEAs while minimizing nonlinear effects over a wide frequency range using a Sliding Mode Control (SMC) scheme. Traditional SMC approaches face two main issues: they do not ensure finite-time convergence during the sliding phase and compromise tracking accuracy due to approximations used to reduce chattering. This work presents a non-singular terminal sliding mode control combined with an enhanced boundary layer switching function to improve precision and finite-time stability. Using stability analysis, extensive MATLAB/SIMULINK simulations, and experimental validation on a conical DEA across diverse reference trajectories and its resilience against uncertainties, the proposed scheme demonstrates superior performance in trajectory tracking compared to PID-based and conventional SMC schemes. The results highlight the scheme’s effectiveness in high-frequency trajectory tracking and its robustness to possible uncertainties and disturbances, offering a robust theoretical framework for dielectric elastomer actuator control and a promising approach for advancing soft robotic technologies. • Novel Finite-time NT-SMC with enhanced boundary layer to reduce non-linear effects in DEA tracking.. • Impact of sliding variable on tracking and stabilization is evaluated to validate SMC schemes. • Effectiveness of proposed SMC methods justified via simulation, experiments, and control metrics.